A unanimous vote has set the county on the path for a moratorium on solar farm construction.

At Monday night’s meeting, Beaufort County commissioners instructed county staff to begin moving forward on a moratorium, a process that could take several months to enact, and would not affect any solar farm project currently under construction, only new ones moving forward, according to county attorney David Francisco.

The Board’s order stems from the plan for a 600-acre solar farm adjacent to Terra Ceia Christian School, to which there has been widespread objection, as well as a growing realization that the county’s existing solar farm ordinance may require revision. But the proposed two-year moratorium would allow time to delve into, and resolve, issues governed by higher offices that affect how counties across the state are impacted by solar development.

Ron Heiniger just wanted to be a farmer. He encouraged research to avoid solar industry encroachment on North Carolina’s prime farmlands.

But because of his academic study, the respected crop and soil scientist has become an unwilling poster child for anti-solar activists, vilified by the solar lobby, and chastened by his employer, N.C. State University.

“I’ve been called crazy. I’ve been threatened. My job’s been threatened. I really don’t want to advertise my issue very much anymore,” said Heiniger, who works at the Vernon G. James Research and Extension Center in Plymouth.

Heiniger and Herb Eckerlin, an N.C. State professor emeritus of the College of Engineering, said they were silenced by the university. Cooperative Extension agents across the state were ordered to cancel popular public forums they had arranged independently to discuss pros and cons of the state’s rapid solar growth.

State lawmakers have jumped in, asking university officials if they have stifled viewpoints that don’t align with those of the solar lobby.

Heiniger and Eckerlin had been working with county and municipal governments to understand the complexities of proposed large commercial solar projects. They were encouraged to launch a speaking tour for farmers and other interested parties at county Cooperative Extension offices.

“I vetted my materials through people in my department, and I’ve shared my slides to everybody who’s asked for them,” Heiniger said. “In the university I’ve had nobody argue against what my concerns are. In fact, I’ve had very many people in academics agree 100 percent.”

Neither Heiniger nor Eckerlin, who designed the Solar House at N.C. State, founded its Solar Center, and was instrumental in creating the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association, oppose solar energy. They said they were interested in full disclosure about pros and cons so that government officials and North Carolina residents could make informed decisions about the renewable industry.

They were joined by Tommy Cleveland, renewable energy project coordinator at the Clean Energy Technology Center, on a panel at Fayetteville.

While Heiniger was driving to the event, Tom Melton, Cooperative Extension deputy director, called him and directed him to discontinue the series of scheduled forums. It was too late to cancel the Fayetteville session, but Melton eventually kept Cleveland on the panel, while replacing Heiniger and Eckerlin at future events.

“It wasn’t an unbiased, educational type meeting. It was a promotional meeting. It was an anti-solar meeting,” Melton said. Factually inaccurate information from the meeting was printed in newspapers, he said.

Melton said he invited Eckerlin to lunch and told him if he would stick to facts and omit “the flamboyant comments” he could remain on the panel.

Melton said he continued to be concerned after an event in Halifax that Eckerlin was “ignorant on the subject. He’s just Googling things and looking it up.”

The university and College of Engineering said Eckerlin was putting them in a bad light, according to Melton. To protect the university’s reputation and educational mission, Melton told county Cooperative Extension offices not to allow Eckerlin or Heiniger on their programs.

“It’s been a bit of a painful process for me,” Melton said. “I’ve been doing this job for over 30 years, and I’ve never asked for anyone not to be on a program.”

State Reps. Billy Richardson, D-Cumberland, and Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin, asked university officials to account for the removal of Heiniger and Eckerlin.

“I’ve only heard one side, and even Solomon listened to both women. But I would be concerned if there was anything untoward about asking them to stand down,” Dixon said.

Richardson attended the Fayetteville event. He called it “without a doubt one of the most enlightening, refreshing, and important seminars I ever went to. I would encourage them, if there’s some reason they politically pulled that back, to not do that. … The university’s mission should never be to present one side.”

Melton said forbidding Heiniger and Eckerlin from taking part in the panel forums resulted largely from complaints by Cooperative Extension agents. Eckerlin said agents were eager to work with them to arrange the meetings.

Other complaints were registered by representatives of the solar industry, and the Clean Energy Technology Center, Melton said.

“The North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association contacted the deans of the College of Agriculture, and told them to shut me down, to stop me from talking to anybody,” Heiniger said. “I’m upset that they’re using what should be the freedom of academics to push back against me.”

“I don’t want to embarrass Melton, and I don’t want to embarrass the university. But Melton [is] not representing the people of the state. He’s representing the solar industry,” Eckerlin said.

Another stated concern is that the solar farm would cause a net overall loss of revenue for the county: if TCS closes, more than $600,000 in salaries will be gone; and money spent locally through agribusinesses to farm the 600 acres would represent at least another $300,000 loss, according to Bradley Van Staalduinen, who spoke during the public comment period.

He compared that $900,000 loss to, at most, a $230,000 gain to the county from $80,000 in property tax revenue and a maximum of three employee salaries.

What do you get when you mix a Chicago Solar Boss the Cops possible Fraud and 3 Solar "Pimps" from the Parker Poe "Swamp Lobby"??

Gertrude Respess claims Wilkinson Solar, and its parent company Invenergy Solar Development, last year took advantage of her dying husband Rhonda to obtain farmland for a large solar installation in Beaufort County.

Gertrude’s attorney Mario Perez also says a notarized statement filed with the Beaufort County Register of Deeds was not true, because the notary was not present when Rhonda and Gertrude Respess signed the memo authorizing the lease and an easement on their property.

While the hard working parents of Terra Ceia School age children are franticly planting their crops, the big money Chicago Solar Boss is filling the Raleigh swamp with money to drive his out of state profits...

So, just who are these "Serpents" of the SWAMP??

Turns out their Parker-Poe Lobbyist who seem to have sold-out their fellow North Carolina neighbors for a Chicago Check??

Fortunately, these paid Swamp Serpents are required to be registered as public record.

As such, you may want to kindly call them or perhaps email and inquire...

Katherine Ross represents businesses and local governments in regulatory matters and civil litigation.

In her regulatory practice, Katherine routinely advises clients on regulatory compliance matters, assists clients with obtaining permits and represents clients in negotiations with local and state agencies. As businesses grow, land use, zoning, environmental, ad valorem tax and other issues involving governmental entities frequently come up. Katherine works with clients to navigate these complex issues and works to evaluate the most cost-efficient path forward.

In her litigation practice, Katherine represents clients in complex civil matters, focusing on real property disputes. While Katherine understands that businesses and governmental entities tend to avoid litigation, she also knows that at times it is unavoidable. Katherine has obtained favorable bench and jury verdicts, and she works with clients to identify when it is worth fighting and when it makes business sense to resolve a matter without a judge or jury. Whether a client is involved in a condemnation action, resolving an easement dispute, or fighting a property tax assessment, Katherine can assist.

With a focus on the energy sector, Katherine has assisted developers of renewable energy facilities as they develop more than 10,000 megawatts of generation. She represents clients seeking permits at the local, state and federal levels. She advises clients on Power Purchase Agreements, Interconnection Agreements and Agreements for the Sale of Renewable Energy Certificates. Katherine also helps clients navigate regulatory changes and provides counsel on the acquisition and sale of renewable energy facilities.

Recognized as a top North Carolina political influencer and one of the state’s most influential lobbyists, Bruce Thompson is part of Parker Poe’s Government & Public Policy group. He concentrates his practice in governmental and regulatory activities, including legislative representation and counsel before the United States Congress and the North Carolina General Assembly, strategy formulation, bill drafting, preparation of testimony for legislative committees, and appearances before state and federal executive agencies. He also focuses on economic development initiatives, having represented some of the nation’s largest companies in incentives negotiations with local and state officials.

In 2013, Campaigns & Elections magazine named him one of the top 10 political influencers from North Carolina as part of the publication’s “Influencers 500” list. The magazine described Bruce as a “top lobbyist” in North Carolina. He has been named to the list of “Most Influential Lobbyists” by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research, was recognized by North Carolina Super Lawyers for Government Relations and Administrative Law and has been named to Woodward/White’s The Best Lawyers in America since 2008.

Bruce served on the National Finance Committee for the Hillary Clinton for President Campaign and was an advisor to Secretary of State Clinton’s campaign during the North Carolina Primary. He served as legal counsel to United States Senator Kay Hagan in her successful campaign and also advised the North Carolina campaign of President Barack Obama during the 2008 general election. Additionally, he served as outside counsel for the 2012 campaign of United States Representative Mike McIntyre.

During each election cycle, news outlets including Media General, Fox News, UNC-TV, NBC-17, the Raleigh News & Observer, the Winston-Salem Journal and the New York Times call upon Bruce for commentary. His experience in state and national politics provides him with insight into the electoral process and its impact on public policy. He also utilizes this experience to advise clients on election law issues in addition to providing counsel on how to navigate the halls of government in Washington, D.C. and Raleigh, N.C.

Before joining Parker Poe, he was an assistant attorney general in the North Carolina Department of Justice. There, he represented the state colleges and universities, the community college system and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. He also served as a legal advisor to the North Carolina Commission on Business Laws and the Economy while a member of the attorney general’s staff.

Following graduation from law school, Bruce served as a law clerk for the Honorable Jack L. Cozort on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He also managed a statewide campaign for North Carolina attorney general in 1996.

He is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.

Matt Wolfe concentrates his practice in the areas of administrative litigation, government relations, and health care regulatory matters.

Within his administrative litigation practice, Matt advises and counsels clients subject to federal and state regulatory actions. Matt routinely appears before the North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings, the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals, State licensing boards, and federal and state courts.

Within his government relations practice, Matt formulates comprehensive political and public relations strategies on a broad range of federal and state policies. He drafts and monitors legislation, intervenes directly with legislative, executive, and local officials, and appears before state and federal executive agencies. Matt has also advised and assisted clients with issues related to federal and State appropriations and grants.

Matt has been selected as a Rising Star by the North Carolina Super Lawyers in health care (2015, 2017), administrative law (2016) and government relations (2014). Before joining Parker Poe, Matt served as a law clerk for the Honorable James C. Dever III, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

While at Duke University School of Law, Matt served as an article editor on the Duke Law Journal, and was also a member of the National Moot Court team and the Mock Trial Board.

Before law school, he taught students with special needs in New Orleans, Louisiana, through Teach for America. He also served as a legislative aide in the British House of Commons. He served as assistant finance director for the campaign of former Representative Tom Reynolds (R-NY). He then worked in the Communications Section of the National Republican Congressional Committee under former Representative Tom Davis (R-VA).

Michael Polsky (Chicago Solar Boss) is the new owner of Jamie Dimon's Chicago mansion, sold at half of its original asking price, $6.95 million, says Crain's.

We can't find a record of these two ever working together, so it's not as cool as buying the boss' house, something Goldman's Bryce Markus and David Tepper both did, but we're guessing that crowning yourself king of Dimon's old mans still feels pretty awesome.

Polsky, the founder, President and CEO of Invenergy, was able to afford the place after he made his money in the energy business. An energy company he founded, SkyGen, was sold to Calpine. Now he's investing in alternative energy. Invenergy owns a number of wind farms.

He's also well-known because in 2007, he had to pay the biggest divorce settlement ever at the time, $184 million, to his ex-wife Maya Polsky, an artist.